The Hearing Regarding the Fate of Nagito Komaeda
by HopeyMcHope
Summary: Hajime Hinata has figured out how to revive the comatose members of Hope's Peak's 77th class. But is it smart to awaken someone as dangerously unpredictable and potentially deadly as Nagito Komaeda? It's up to the first five out of the Neo World Program to determine the best course of action.


Hajime Hinata stood on the beach of Jabberwock Island and stared out across the ocean, thinking a complex array of thoughts. Part of him – the part that was more Izuru Kamakura than his original self – was dispassionately calculating the probable reactions he would see during the meeting that was about to take place. On the other hand, he could also feel the beginnings of a knot in his stomach, and that was undoubtedly caused by his original self — the part of him that was worried about whether they had any right to even have this conversation.

After a few minutes, he began to hear footsteps approaching from behind. As each pair of feet hit the grains, they all made a distinctive variant of a _pssh_ noise. One pair of light, measured steps led the group, followed by another pair of deliberate footfalls — they could be considered "stomping" if the owner of the feet wasn't so small to begin with. The third pair's steps were casual and somewhat erratic, with an occasional slip indicated by a _brrrsssh_ sound.

A voice: "Hey, Hinata?" It was the third person to arrive — Kazuichi Souda. "What's this all about?"

"Let's wait until everyone's here," Hajime answered.

They only needed to wait a few more seconds. The last arrival came up behind Hinata at a fast and heavy clip. Once he heard her skid to a halt in the sand, he turned around and faced the group.

"Thanks for coming, everybody," Hajime told them.

"It's not like we've got somewhere else to be," Fuyuhiko snapped.

Now that he was looking at them, Hajime could see that Akane Owari was leaning on a palm tree, looking only mildly winded from her late arrival. Off to her side was Kazuichi Souda, who straightened up from a slouch when Hajime turned around. Sonia Nevermind was only a little bit in front of Souda, both trying to ignore his proximity and holding her hands in a hopeful clasp. Further off to the side of the group was Fuyuhiko, who had his hands in his pockets and already looked impatient.

"Have you made progress?" Sonia inquired.

Hajime allowed himself a small smile. "Yes, I have. In fact, I'm happy to report that I've already initiated the process of repairing the Ultimate Imposter's mind. In another week or so, he should be the first of our comatose friends to rejoin us on this island."

"HELL YEAH!" Akane suddenly yelled. Sonia applauded giddily, her eyes wide with glee, as Kazuichi jumped up and down behind her, screaming "GET HYYYYYYPE!" Fuyuhiko just looked down and nodded, gamely trying to hide the clear grin on his face.

Owari and Souda exchanged a high-five. Sonia looked around herself excitedly, then settled for rushing over to Hajime, grabbing his hand, and shaking it emphatically.

"Thank you _so much_ for this," the princess told Hajime happily. "I will have Novoselic's minstrels write songs in your honor!"

"You have... _minstrels_?" Hajime said quizzically.

"Of course," Sonia assured him. "Novolesic's royal family has always had a minimum of four minstrels on hand to write songs for the family and perform said songs at royal functions. So shall it always be!"

"Okay then," Hajime said, still feeling confused about her country's traditions. "In that case… that's definitely unnecessary, but... thank you." He didn't bother to question whether such minstrels would still exist in the post-Tragedy world; he just let Sonia smile and turn to walk away.

As the princess stepped back to her spot, Kazuichi promptly ran towards her with his arms outstretched, intending to hug her in celebration. However, the princess smoothly stepped aside as he charged, leaving him to pitch forward and land face-first in the sand. Sonia appeared utterly content with this result. She folded her hands behind her back and smiled joyously at the sight of Souda's misery as he pushed himself up onto all fours and began spitting sand from his mouth.

Fuyuhiko smirked at Souda's predicament before turning his attention to Hajime. "Way to stir up the drama," he said. "I mean, calling us out here just to tell us everything's going to plan? You're like a goddamned carny."

"Actually, that's _not_ the main reason I asked you all to come," Hajime informed him. He spoke up more as he told the group, "We have an important decision to make — and I can't make it alone." He scanned the curious faces of the small group as their joy transitioned into curiosity and confusion. Finally, Hajime began to provide more detail: "Those who died the earliest within the Neo World Program will require the least amount of repair because they grew the least detached from reality. Once I've verified my process and awakened the Imposter, the rest should take far less time."

"Sounds awesome," Kazuichi said as he continued to brush sand from his hair. "So what's the problem?"

"The problem is the last person in line," Hajime clarified. "We need to discuss the fate of Nagito Komaeda."

The gang's facial expressions rapidly turned into abject discomfort.

"Whaddya mean?" Akane asked forcefully. "You're gonna wake him up, same as everybody!"

Hajime's voice transitioned into a soft, soothing drone as he explained, "From a certain point of view, that may seem logical. Then again… leaving him as he is, attempting to alter his way of thinking, or even granting him a merciful end could all be seen as equally prudent options."

"Kamakura alert," Kazuichi muttered.

Sonia was visibly aghast. "You musn't say such things!" she insisted to Hajime. "You're suggesting that we murder our own friend?!"

Fuyuhiko laughed grimly at her question. "Most of us _never_ considered him a friend," he said. "During school, he was the annoying self-flagellating freak who was on suspension half the time we were there," he reminded her. Sonia's face went from shock to anger as he continued, "When Komaeda _was_ there, his idea of supporting us involved trying to _blow up the fucking school_ so we could skip our fucking exams! And even while we were Remnants of Despair, he went off and did his own weird-ass thing in Towa City. And don't forget that inside the Neo World Program, he-"

"That's good, man," Kazuichi interrupted gently. "I think she got the picture."

"Don't coddle Miss Priss just 'cause you're stalking her," Fuyuhiko spat with irritation.

Sonia glared at the yakuza and retorted, "And don't presume to insult _me_ because you're still bitter over your personal losses."

Fuyuhiko gritted his teeth, but before he could respond, Hajime yelled, "CUT IT OUT!"

The group turned to face him again, mildly surprised by the outburst but too focused on exchanging dirty looks with one another to really give it much thought.

Hajime looked across the other four with a disapproving frown. "In spite of how he said it, Kuzuryuu isn't exactly wrong," he noted. "Firstly, Komaeda _did_ attempt a school bombing just to help your class, risking the lives of countless others in the name of helping _your_ morale. Secondly, his bizarre luck has caused large-scale deaths even without him intending to do so, hearkening back to before his time as a Remnant. For example, the plane crash that killed everyone aboard except himself."

"Damn!" Akane blurted.

Hajime ignored the interruption. "Thirdly, he attempted – and _damn near_ succeeded – at both murdering the Ultimate Imposter and, later, _every single one of us_ — and all of this without having any memory of his time as a Remnant of Despair. In other words, the _good version_ of Nagito Komaeda did all of that."

Akane's eyes went wide. Kazuichi held his hand up to his mouth in horror.

"Indeed," Hajime continued, "Through the awakening methods I have planned for the others, getting back _that_ Komaeda may actually be our _best-case_ scenario, and it's also a pretty unacceptable one."

"Oh craaaaap," Kazuichi groaned.

"''Snot fair," Akane said, furrowing her brow. "Once he remembers everything he did, he'll definitely want to help! That's somethin', right?"

"If you're asking whether his intentions can drive how his luck affects him," Hajime said, glancing sideways, "I would assume not based on his history _."_

"Plus he already knew he was a Remnant of Despair as soon as he got through the Final Dead Game in the funhouse, remember?" Fuyuhiko added as he looked over towards Akane. "That's actually what _caused_ the bastard to try and kill all of us through bombs before he moved on to that insane suicide-slash-mass-murder plot. "

"It's one thing to attempt to kill us all in a controlled scenario where Chiaki's A.I. was protecting us," Hajime advised the group. "It's quite another to do it in the real world."

"Right, right," Kazuichi said nervously. "So you mean... it'd be a lot harder for him to do that crap _here_ , yeah?"

Hajime shook his head. "The opposite, actually. He'd still have his luck working for him, and _we_ wouldn't have anyone with even partial control over the world to protect us. If he got it in his mind that the best way to protect hope was to kill everyone currently on this island? I'm not sure we could stop him."

"But you have the same luck that he does, don't you?" Sonia pressed him. "Surely you can counter whatever he throws at us!"

"Maybe so," Hajime acknowledged. "In fact, that might be the best hope we have at preventing a disaster by virtue of his very presence. But should we have to take that gamble in the first place?"

The assembled group looked around uneasily. For almost half a minute, the waves lapping against the nearby shore provided the only sound between them.

"What about everybody else?" Akane asked. "I mean, if they're gonna wake up anyway, shouldn't they get a say?"

"Of course," Hajime agreed. "And we can always ask for their opinions after we wake them up. But some of the ideas I'm considering for Komaeda will require more preparation and lead time than I'll need in order to wake the others. If we agree to go down certain roads, I'd like to get started on them as soon as possible."

"Those are the, uh, roads where he wakes up, right?" Kazuichi said.

"Yes," Hajime confirmed.

"Gotta say I'm a bit surprised he hasn't magically woken up on his own by now," Fuyuhko said. "A guy with his talent? He can get out of all kinds of crazy shit."

"The fact that he's still comatose at least implies that his talent has limitations," Hajime responded.

"This entire conversation is absurd," Sonia said, furrowing her brow. "All of us are responsible for horrendous things. We have no right to sentence Komaeda-san to death while we live the rest of our lives in comparative comfort."

"We don't have to kill him _or_ wake him up ASAP, right?" Kazuichi suggested. "I mean, even if we can't agree right away, can't we just keep him asleep in the pod until we figure it out?"

Sonia turned her neck to look back at him. "A living death is no less harsh a fate than a literal one, and the very suggestion _disgusts_ me," she said. Kazuichi took two steps away from her and his face seemed to crumple under the princess' glare. It appeared he might cry at any second.

Hajime regarded Sonia with a small, amused smile. "I take it that you're unwilling to entertain anything other than bringing him back into the gang as soon as we can, then?"

Sonia returned her attention to Hajime and leveled a steely look of determination at him. "That is correct," she acknowledged. "Nagito Komaeda is our friend whether we like it or not."

Fuyuhiko grinned at her. "Wow, that's heartwarming as _fuck_ ," he sarcastically remarked with a grim chuckle.

Hajime's tone grew soft again, and his red eye seemed to glint coldly as he stated, "Remember that your title holds no authority here, if you even still hold such a title after everything we've done _._ Everyone's votes _must_ be treated equally among us."

Sonia looked down and put a hand on her chest, frowning. Her eyes still burned angrily, but she said nothing.

Hajime cleared his throat and blinked a few times before continuing, "With all of these objections and opinions in mind, I'd like to go over the options I've identified in more detail."

"Yeah, fine," Fuyuhiko murmured, looking down.

"The first option is both the most obvious and the most difficult," Hajime began. "The upside is that it's a permanent solution to the problem. The downside is that it's... well, that I don't really care for it. It's cruel and robs Komaeda of any agency in his fate. Though I suppose that lack of agency is something he deals with a lot... "

"You're talkin' about killin' him, right?" Akane asked.

"Yes," Hajime confirmed. "However, I think most of us would feel uncomfortable with such a choice."

"Better him than _everybody_ ," Fuyuhiko said with a morose frown.

Sonia's attention immediately went back to the Yakuza, her eyes narrowing. "How can you be so cold?" she asked.

Fuyuhiko shrugged at her. "Sometimes you gotta make the hard calls — the ones that get the least amount of your own people killed. You wanna be a queen someday? Then you better learn to deal with this kinda shit."

"I'm sure there's a way to keep Komaeda under control without _killing_ him," Kazuichi interjected, looking between Sonia and Fuyuhiko. He turned towards Hajime and asked, "You got ideas for that, right man?"

"I do," Hajime responded. "The second option is that we can activate his revival on a delay — setting it up so that he awakens only _after_ we've revived everyone else, and then we've all identified a way off the island and escaped."

"You'd maroon him here?!" Sonia questioned with horror in her voice.

"No," Hajime answered calmly. "I'd make certain that someone was on their way to find and retrieve him."

"He could still wind up back with Future Foundation and get executed for being a Remnant, or... or who knows what else," Kazuichi realized.

"Hell, I can think of something worse than that," Fuyuhiko told the group. "Lucky bastard could probably catch up to us any time he wanted, and I know _I_ sure as hell wouldn't be happy if I woke up abandoned and alone... "

"I don't believe Komaeda is a vengeful person," Hajime told Fuyuhiko.

"He doesn't even have to be!" Fuyuhiko countered. "He's only gotta decide _again_ that we're all better off dead, and that's damn well enough!"

"I don't like it," Akane said.

"You fuckin' shouldn't!" Fuyhiko yelled at her.

"Not that stuff _you're_ saying," Akane replied. "I mean I don't like Hinata's idea. Old Man Nidai would kill me if I left a teammate behind."

"Right, okay, so _that_ has drawbacks," Kazuichi said, scratching his head. "What's left?"

"You already suggested one of the remaining concepts yourself," Hajime told him. "There is the possibility could leave him as-is for others to revive later. However, even though I'm still conducting the necessary research, I still feel as though I'm more likely to succeed in reviving him than anyone else is."

"Nice humblebrag," Kazuichi monotoned dryly.

"Let us talk about our options for reviving him instead," Sonia said with both hands over her chest. Her eyes looked desperate as she quietly added, "Please."

Hajime nodded, attempting to offer her a reassuring smile. "Very well. I have two options, the first of which is to follow the same course as I am with the others: Repairing the damage done to his mind by his death, and providing therapeutic easement into a merging of his post- and pre-Despair selves. Yes, Komaeda was _told_ that he was once a Remnant of Despair while he was in the funhouse, but that's not the same as specifically remembering it."

"Yeah, giving him full memories of it could be _worse_ ," Fuyuhiko noted.

"It could also be better," Hajime advised him. "The full realization of his crimes may be the impetus he needs to seek redemption alongside the rest of us. We can't know, and there's something to be said for granting him the same opportunities as everyone else."

"But you can't guarantee he'd change his view on what he last tried to do," Kazuichi said flatly.

"No," Hajime agreed. "I cannot. Which brings me to my last suggestion: I can try to alter his way of thinking."

"You mean _brain manipulation_?" Sonia asked with a frown. "Is there no end to the horrors you're offering us?"

"I don't mean to _brainwash_ him," Hajime assured her. "Nor am I speaking of something as radical as what Hope's Peak did to _me_. I'm offering something more... therapeutic."

"The heck's that mean?!" Akane demanded.

"I'll explain," Hajime told her. "In reviewing the works of those who invented the Neo World Program, I learned quite a bit from Miaya Gekkogahara's writings. Applying her form of psychoanalysis to Komaeda has led me to believe that all of his most deplorable actions were driven by his immense respect for talent and those who have it. Why did he try to set off a bomb at Hope's Peak? For the benefit of what he perceived to be his more-talented classmates. Why did he want to kill one of us once Monokuma took over the program? To start getting those of us with talent off of the apparent 'island.' Why did he try to kill _all_ of us at the end? Because of his hatred and fear of those who used their all-powerful talents to do harm, and so on."

"Okay, sure," Fuyuhiko said with a shrug. "So?"

"So I propose to place him into a lengthy simulation of life _without_ talent," Hajime said with a grin. "A world where none of us had any special abilities, but he was still our classmate. A world where the only luck he ever had was _bad_ , and the only thing he had to admire around him was how _normal_ we all were."

" _Ah_ ," Sonia said, realizing his intent. "You mean to show him how the other half lives!"

"Look, I may not get everything you're sayin'," Akane said. "But won't that kinda thing just piss him off?"

"She's got a point," Kazuichi agreed, looking over to Akane. "I mean, we all saw how he treated you like a pile of crap when he found out you were a Reserve Student, Hinata-kun."

Hajime flinched a little at the memory, but quickly regained his composure. "I understand your concerns," he said to Kazuichi and Akane. "But Nevermind correctly surmised my intent, and I believe it could make a world of difference. To some extent, we are _all_ victims of luck. Luck drives the circumstances we're born into and much of what we encounter in life, and that is even more true for Komaeda than most. If we can make him understand how thin the line is between the utalented and the talentless... how _arbitrary_ such a distinction really is... I think we could awaken a better person within him."

"You 'think'?" Fuyuhiko asked rhetorically. "Is that a good enough reason to screw with our _lives_?"

"By my calculations," Hajime answered him coolly, "The chances of my success in this precise endeavor are currently 68%. That's subject to change as I delve further into the process, mind you."

"That's more than two-thirds!" Sonia exclaimed triumphantly. She raised a fist in the air. "Let's go for it!"

"That's _true_ , Miss Sonia," Kazuichi said carefully before he glumly added, "But there's also nearly a third of a chance it goes bad... I'm just sayin'."

"What if he winds up hating everybody for being so talentless, or considers his own bad-luck streak to be the _greatest thing ever_ and tries to become the supreme overlord of computer dreamland or some shit?" Fuyuhiko inquired.

"Alter Ego will be monitoring his emotional and mental reactions," Hajime responded. "If things get out of hand, he can report that back to me."

"So if this _does_ work, he'll totally be a cool guy?" Akane pressed.

"No one can guarantee that," Hajime said. "I know that if it works, it should make him think more sanely and logically, and perhaps some slight chemical re-balancing as prescribed by the works of the former Ultimate Neurologist would be a good boost, too. I need to do some further research into his condition and the best treatment."

Sonia eyed Hajime suspiciously. "Hinata-san... why did you wait to tell us this option _last_?"

He smiled at her. "Because it's my personal favorite choice, of course."

Sonia grinned joyfully at him. "I never should have doubted your intentions," she said. "You have my apologies."

"I never said it was the _winning_ choice," he warned her.

"I'm with Miss Sonia," Kazuichi chimed in. "Your plan is the way to go!"

"Please make certain that you _truly_ feel this is the best vote," Hajime said to him in a firm voice. "And by that, I particularly mean that _you_ should feel that way. No one else's opinion should factor into your choice." The inference towards Souda was evident to everyone. Sonia even smiled a little to herself.

"I-I really mean it, though," Kazuichi confirmed, looking slightly embarrassed. "I don't want any of our friends dead — not even the crazy ones."

"Do you intend to provide such therapy to Tsumiki-san as well?" Sonia asked Hajime hopefully.

"Maybe a little," Hajime answered. "It'd be nice to help out her mental state, but it need not be as radical as the work I'm planning on Komaeda. We all saw how, at her best, Tsumiki was already a good person — I just think she may need more help easing her way into remembering everything and coming out the other side intact."

"I'm more worried about Saionji-san than Tsumiki-san," Kazuichi grumbled. "That girl was _vicious_."

"Sure, but not _psychotically_ so," Hajime said with a chuckle. "That's for _her_ to deal with."

"In case anyone cares, I'm with the rest of you on this," Akane offered. "We gotta do this thing for Komaeda!"

"Yeah, sure," Fuyuhiko said with a sigh. "I guess at least it gives us a decent chance of everyone making it out, right?"

"I appreciate that you finally see the benefits of supporting our friend!" Sonia said to Fuyuhiko happily.

"H-hey now," Fuyuhiko protested, "I never _wanted_ to kill the poor bastard. I just wanted to be _careful_. I still do."

"Then the decision is unanimous," Hajime announced, still smiling. "I suppose it's possible that some of our remaining friends may disagree, but I doubt it. I think we're on our way towards seeing quite a class reunion."

"Oh _man_ , I gotta get to working on a robot arm for that dude!" Kazuichi cried out triumphantly. "It's gonna be so sweet!"

"Great, now we're making the crazy lucky guy _bionic_ ," Fuyuhiko said with a laugh — one that was far more good-natured than his last few.

The group began to leave the beach, with Hajime taking up the rear.

"Just you wait!" Kazuichi told Fuyuhiko. "It's gonna be _sick!_ Komaeda-kun's gonna be able to swing a tree trunk like a friggin' baseball bat!"

"Maybe we should lower the _strength enhancement_ aspect," Hajime advised the excited engineer. "I don't think Komaeda needs to bench-press a rhino. Even if he could do so, that's only likely to end with the rhino crushing our unlucky compatriot."

"Hmph, okay," Kazuichi acknowledged as he slipped a little in the sand. "What if it has a gun that pops out of the wrist?"

"Still violently unnecessary," Hajime said.

"Souda," Sonia said gently, "If you have such a desperate need to build a weapon, why don't you focus on making me a parasol that doubles as a extendable staff? Perhaps it could have a rifle built into the end?"

" _Amazing_ idea, Miss Sonia!" Kazuichi enthused. "I'll get on it right away!"

Hajime gave the princess a look of gratitude before adding, "Yes, then provide a _regular_ arm for Komaeda, please."

"So Hinata," Akane said, "Hanamura's second in line, right?"

"That's right," he answered. He was well aware of her intentions.

Akane immediately broke into a giddy giggle. "My body is ready for that foooood!" she yelled. " _Boo-yah_!"

"And mine _isn't_ ready to hear his disgusting innuendos," Sonia said with a sigh _._

"Y'know, maybe Komaeda's luck _is_ the reason he's still in the damn pod," Fuyuhiko theorized, smiling. "At least he doesn't have to hear all _this._ "

"Wait a second," Kazuichi suddenly realized. He froze in his tracks and spun to face Hajime. "The stats? That whole thing where you were able to estimate your likelihood of success on this plan, I mean?"

Hajime came to a halt as well, with the others all stopping to look back at them and listen.

"Yes?" Hajime said. "What about it?"

"Didja... did you figure out which choice we were gonna vote for, too?" Kazuichi asked, shifting his feet nervously. "I mean, didja know how this meeting was gonna turn out before it even started?"

"Whoa, deep," Akane whispered to herself.

Hajime grinned widely at Kazuichi. "Not for certain," he replied.

"How certain _were_ you, then, Hinata-san?" Sonia inquired further.

Hajime smirked playfully at her and said, "Only 92%."


End file.
